Michigan State leads the all-time series against Purdue 46-20-1, but the Boilermakers have won the last two meetings. Purdue is 10-8 overall this season and 1-4 in Big Ten action, while Michigan State is 7-5-1 overall and 1-3 in the Big Ten.
Below is a weight-by-weight breakdown of Sunday's dual meet.
125: No. 17 Cashé Quiroga (Purdue) vs. Eric Olanowski (Michigan State)
Quiroga, a true freshman seems to be gaining confidence with each match he gets under his belt. Last weekend, Quiroga defeated the first ranked opponent of his career, Nikko Triggas of Ohio State, and then gave All-American Zach Sanders a tough battle two days later, which earned him a spot in the rankings. After his 6-4 victory over Wisconsin's Drew Hammen on Friday, he improved to 21-8 on the season. Olanowski is a .500 wrestler this season and coming off a 17-8 loss to No. 9 Matt Steintrager of Central Michigan.
Bottom Line: Quiroga is wrestling well, while Olanowski is struggling. Look for the Purdue true freshman to come out fast and roll to a fairly easy victory.
Prediction: Quiroga (Purdue) dec. Olanowski (Michigan State)
133: Akif Eren (Purdue) vs. No. 4 Franklin Gomez (Michigan State)
Gomez, the defending NCAA champion at 133 pounds, had not faced a top 10 wrestler through the first 15 matches of this season. Last weekend was a his first major test of the season, when he faced Iowa's Daniel Dennis on Sunday. Dennis, who was one of only two wrestlers to defeat Gomez last season, edged the Spartan senior in the tiebreaker, which knocked Gomez from first to fourth in the rankings. Gomez came back on Friday to defeat No. 8 Scotti Sentes, an All-American last season at 125 pounds, 5-3, to improve to 16-1 on the season. Matt Fields got the start for Purdue on Friday against Wisconsin, but Eren, who has a 20-10 record, has been the starter all season.
Bottom Line: Gomez should dominate whoever Purdue sends out on the mat.
Prediction: Gomez (Michigan State) major dec. Eren (Purdue)
141: No. 20 Juan Archuleta (Purdue) vs. Dan Osterman (Michigan State)
The fast-improving Archuleta is coming off the biggest win of the season over one of the nation's hottest wrestlers, Mike Thorn of Minnesota. Two days prior to beating Thorn, Archuleta gave second-ranked Reece Humphrey of Ohio State all he wanted ... before falling, 3-1, in sudden victory. It has been baptism by fire for the true freshman Osterman. He started the season at 133 pounds, going 8-0, before moving up to 141 pounds, where he has gone 9-10. His biggest win this season came over the oft-injured Brandon Rader of West Virginia, a two-time All-American.
Bottom Line: This will be the first opponent not ranked in the top 10 that Archueleta will face in Big Ten dual meet competition. If Osterman wrestles well, he could keep it competitive, but Archuleta should come out on top in this match.
Prediction: Archuleta (Purdue) dec. Osterman (Michigan State)
149: Nick Bertucci (Purdue) vs. No. 12 David Cheza (Michigan State)
Cheza took some lumps last season as a redshirt freshman, going 16-23 overall and 4-11 in dual meets. He has improved greatly since last season and now finds himself on the brink of cracking the top 10 after compiling a record of 19-8. He is coming off a victory over No. 14 Tony D'Alie of Central Michigan on Friday. Bertucci has been up and down this season ... and is currently down. He has dropped six of his last seven matches, but still has 20 wins this season.
Bottom Line: These two met early in the season with Bertucci picking up a 9-1 major decision over Cheza. That result seems a bit mind-boggling based on how the two wrestlers have fared since. It will be interesting to see if Cheza can turn around that result.
Prediction: Cheza (Michigan State) dec. Bertucci (Purdue)
157: Colton Salazar (Purdue) vs. Anthony Jones (Michigan State)
Salazar, a two-time NCAA qualifier, has battled injuries this season, which has contributed to his inconsistency. He began the season ranked 11th in the country then reeled off eight straight victories to start the season, which included wins over No. 6 Kurt Kinser of Indiana and No. 8 Bryce Saddoris of Navy. He finished eighth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational while wrestling with a broken rib. He is 24-10 this season and coming off a technical victory on Friday against Jesse Hintz of Wisconsin. Jones showed promise last season as a true sophomore, going 24-15, but has struggled this season. He comes into Sunday's match with an 8-12 record, but has lost six of his last seven matches.
Bottom Line: Jones had a win over Bertucci last season, but doesn't seem to wrestling with the same confidence this season. Salazar has been hot and cold this season, but should be able to beat the struggling Jones.
Prediction: Salazar (Purdue) dec. Jones (Michigan State)
165: Jason Martin (Purdue) vs. Kyle Bounds (Michigan State)
Bounds began his career at Oregon, but transferred to Michigan State after the wrestling program was dropped. After sitting out last season, Bounds has stepped in the Spartan lineup and been a key contributor. He has gone 25-12 with his most notable win coming against Wyoming's ninth-ranked Shane Onufer at the Sprawl & Brawl. He is coming off a bad loss (10-2) on Friday to Central Michigan's Tyler Grayson. Martin has gone through a tough stretch in the Big Ten, where he has lost four straight ... with three of those losses coming to wrestlers ranked in the top six.
Bottom Line: Bounds is much better than he showed in his last outing against Grayson. Martin has not been competitive in any of his Big Ten matches this season.
Prediction: Bounds (Michigan State) dec. Martin (Purdue)
174: No. 6 Luke Manuel (Purdue) vs. Ian Hinton (Michigan State)
Manuel, who moved up this season from 165 pounds, has already won 33 matches this season against only two defeats. His last loss came at the Midlands to Oregon State's ninth-ranked Colby Covington, but he avenged that loss the next day. After a three-match layoff because of injury, Manual picked up a 3-0 victory over Brendan Ard of Wisconsin on Friday, which marked his 12th straight victory. Hinton, an NCAA qualifier last season as a redshirt freshman, has gone 14-12 this season, but has lost four of his last five matches.
Bottom Line: Manuel should win this match fairly comfortably and bonus points aren't out of the question. Hinton is better than his record indicates, but he doesn't seem to be getting any breaks with the schedule ... as he will be facing his fifth ranked opponent in six matches.
Prediction: Manuel (Purdue) dec. Hinton (Michigan State)
184: Nick Corpe (Purdue) vs. Nick Palmieri (Michigan State)
Palmieri and Corpe are both in their fourth seasons as starters and both have yet to reach the NCAA Championships. Both are slightly above .500 this season. Palmieri is 13-10, while Corpe is 16-14. Palmieri did not compete in Michigan State's dual meet against Central Michigan on Friday.
Bottom Line: This should be a very competitive match between two experienced Big Ten wrestlers that could go either way.
Prediction: Palmieri (Michigan State) dec. Corpe (Purdue)
197: No. 11 Logan Brown (Purdue) vs. Tyler Dickenson (Michigan State)
Brown, a two-time NCAA qualifier, has gone 2-2 to start the Big Ten season. He won his first two matches over Luke Lofthouse of Iowa and Cody Magrum of Ohio State, but has dropped his last two matches to a couple nationally-ranked wrestlers in Sonny Yohn of Minnesota and Tyler Brandvold of Wisconsin. His most notable win this season came against Michigan's ninth-ranked Anthony Biondo at the Eastern Michigan Open in early November. Dickenson, who is in his second season as the starter at 197 pounds for the Spartans, has compiled a 15-13 mark this season, but is still looking for his first conference win this season, after dropping his four Big Ten matches.
Bottom Line: Brown edged Dickenson earlier this season, 3-2, at the Eastern Michigan Open. Expect another close battle with Brown likely coming out on top again.
Prediction: Brown (Purdue) dec. Dickenson (Michigan State)
285: Adam Walls (Purdue) vs. Alan O'Donnell (Michigan State)
O'Donnell has done a solid job for the Spartans this season, going 9-10 while battling many of the nation's top heavyweights. He lost by three points to No. 2 Nathan Everhart of Indiana and two points to No. 3 Jarod Trice of Central Michigan on Friday. Walls, a true freshman, won four of his first five matches to begin the season. But he has struggled since late November. Since November 22, Walls has gone 2-16 and has lost his 10 matches.
Bottom Line: O'Donnell should beat Walls and pick up his second conference victory of the season.
Prediction: O'Donnell (Michigan State) dec. Walls (Purdue)
Dual Meet Prediction: Michigan State 16, Purdue 15
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